The present invention relates to apparatus for supporting ultrasound probes in medical imaging and, in particular, to a brace intended to reduce occupational injuries to sonographers.
Ultrasound medical imaging uses ultrasound sound waves to construct an image of internal body structures. During an ultrasound imaging procedure, an ultrasonic transducer (probe) is pressed against a patient to transmit ultrasound into the patient and to receive echoes that may be analyzed to produce the image. The probe is typically hand held by a sonographer to be easily manipulated to direct the ultrasound to a desired region of interest and/or to sweep the direction of the ultrasound to create a dynamic image of internal body structure.
In some obese patients, forces of up to 40 pounds of pressure are needed between the probe and the patient. Often, and especially with portable ultrasound units which are the only imaging devices available in an intensive care unit, the sonographer must assume awkward postures to reach around large or incapacitated patients. Ultrasound technologists may be required to hold and manipulate a probe against the body of a patient for long periods of time, particularly for biopsy or ablation procedures.
The probe body is normally constructed of a hard, seamless polymer shell protecting the probe electronics and allowing for easy cleaning of the probe, but making the probe difficult to grip. This problem can be exacerbated by the acoustic coupling gel normally used to increase acoustic coupling between the probe and the patient which can contaminate the surface of the probe, making it slippery. For this reason, it is known in the art to reduce the fatigue of the sonographer by placing ribs or cushioning material on the surface of the ultrasound at the probe.
In the approximately thirty years that real time ultrasonic scanning has come into prominence as a diagnostic tool, work-related injuries have become epidemic among medical sonographers. Approximately 80% of sonographers report that they have some sort of musculoskeletal complaint of the hand and wrist. Career-ending injuries due to daily stresses of sonography affect approximately 20% of the work force. The most frequent injuries are tendonitis, tenosynovitis, thoracic outlet syndrome and carpal tunnel syndrome.